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Updated: Jul 1, 2025

Shunt Surgery, Right Heart Catheterization, and Vascular Morphometry in a Rat Model for Flow-induced Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
Published on: February 11, 2017
General Capillary Endothelial Cells Undergo Reprogramming into Arterial Endothelial Cells in Pulmonary Hypertension
Bin Liu1,2,3, Dan Yi1,2,3, Xiaomei Xia1,2
1Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep, University of Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
In pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), lung capillary cells transform into arterial cells via the HIF-2a-Notch4 pathway. Targeting this transition offers a potential new treatment for PAH patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Biology
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Cellular Biology
Background:
- Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) involves increased pulmonary vascular resistance and remodeling, leading to right heart failure.
- The mechanisms behind distal capillary endothelial cell (EC) loss and vascular lesion formation in PAH are not fully understood.
Conclusions:
- Capillary endothelium transitions to arterial endothelium via the HIF-2a-Notch4 pathway during PAH development.
- Targeting this arterial EC transition presents a novel therapeutic strategy for PAH.
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